He's Mad that Trusts in the Tameness of a Wolf
by AcidGummiBear
Summary: Dr. Katelyn Howel is a talented psychoanalyst with a darker alter ego. Will the Joker drive her to the same madness to which he drove Harley Quinn before he murdered her? Mature for language, extreme violence and eventual sexual content. Joker/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"**This is Dr. Katelyn Howel, recording patient interview number one with Arkham inmate 1476…the Joker. The date is March 24, approximately 11:35 a.m. So, what would you like to talk about today? Would you like to talk about why you're here?" **

"**Ah, doc, bore me to death! Do you know how many psychoanalysts and pseudo-analytical psychos have asked me the same arbitrary questions? I can think of 5 I've seriously injured, just off the top of my head… heheheh"**

"**Ahem. Yes, I was made well aware of each of those incidents before I was assigned to your case. Let's talk about those incidents. What was your motive? Why harm the only people in Gotham who are putting in the effort to try and help you?"**

"**Why **_**not**_**? "**

"**That's not a very positive or progressive answer… Do you see any sort of difference between the doctors and staff here at Arkham you've injured, or killed – and those on the outside - the innocent people of the city?"**

"**Mm not particularly. It certainly is **_**harder**_** for me to get my hands on you killjoys than it is on those morons, what with the straight jackets and the gun-toting dummies around every corner." He nodded his head toward the door. "You see, doc, in my line of business, it's so hard to look past the fact that people are inherently,**_** tragically**_** predictable."**

"**Do you feel that predictability is a sin? Do you feel as if you're punishing the predictable?"**

"**Why, no! Nonono, doc, not punishing…liberating! Those mindless drones need to be liberated from their vulgar, worthless existences. Do you think most people are truly **_**alive**_**, doctor, or simply existing? What I do…I excite this city. I breathe life into it every time I push down the plunger of a bomb! "**

"**Interesting. Your philosophy strikes me as an inherent oxymoron. Any thoughts?"**

"**Ah, forget it doc. You're just like all the rest. Take me back to my cell before I let myself loose from this jacket and **_**show**_** you what I'm talking about. Mmhehehaha…"**

**A chair scraping against a cement floor, doors slamming open, and scuffling could be heard in the background of the recording.**

"**Don't even think about it Joker!"**

"**Just give us a reason to beat your bony little ass to a pulp! Get outta that chair!"**

**Katelyn pushed down the STOP button on the tape recorder, leaning back in her giant recliner and lacing her fingers together, deep in thought. She was young, hadn't been a psychologist for more than 5 years, but had worked with some fairly dangerous Gotham criminals already. She was popular at Arkham because she had developed a reputation as being notoriously hard to break – impossible, in fact. Which was the main reason Warden Sharp had found it acceptable that she take on Joker's case, one of - if not **_**the **_**- most dangerous in the entire asylum. Not only was he a physical danger to doctors and orderlies, but he had a way of planting ideas in people's heads that could grow into any number of psychological and philosophical torments. Many people who'd had recurring encounters with the Joker and lived to tell about it complained of insomnia, nightmares, paranoia, anxiety, and a plethora of other unsettling symptoms.**

**And then there was the incident with Harley Quinn. It had been a long time coming, but the very fact that Joker had seduced a doctor into falling in love with him, helping him to escape the asylum numerous times, and joining his mad crusade for chaos was an incredible testament to his charisma and persuasiveness: two dangerous qualities to possess when one was utterly insane. Their Bonnie and Clyde-like rampage had ended recently with Harley dead, and (interestingly) by no particularly interesting method.**

**Katelyn made her way to her bedroom. Her large wolf-dog, Shiva, was sleeping soundly on her bed. Throwing open the doors of her closet, she pushed a fairly large collection of hanging suits and professional attire to the side and slid open a compartment carefully hidden at the back of the dark wardrobe. Shiva awoke at the sounds, whining softly. Katelyn turned, smiling warmly at her companion. "Shh. It's all right. I'll be back in a few hours."**

**After disrobing, she pulled a dark, rich brown wolf-shaped mask and a sleek, skin-tight costume out of the compartment in the closet. She pulled on the shirt and the pants, then pulled the mask over her head and adjusted it so she could see. **

**She strapped a knife sheath around her right thigh, another around her left ankle, one more around her upper left arm, and another larger one around her chest, then pulled on a pair of brown gloves and brown boots. She walked over to a large set of bay windows, throwing back the curtains that covered them. She threw open one of the windows and leaped out of her bedroom and into the dark streets of Gotham City.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**The next day, Katelyn entered the doctors' lounge in the Arkham Asylum intensive treatment ward to see a fellow doctor reading the **_**Gotham Daily**_**. She sat down after pouring a cup of coffee and looked at Dr. Stanholtz. "Anything new and wacky on the front pages today, Gregory?"**

**He looked up at her over the unfolded paper. "Another murder last night. A lawyer on 19****th**** Street. Apparently they found a large collection of incriminating evidence in the guy's apartment. Quite a history of extorting colossal sums from his corporate defense jobs. You think Batman's finally given up and started knocking people off?"**

**She laughed. "Poison Ivy, maybe? She was just released on good behavior. Also boasts quite a history of man-hating. I wonder if she read the **_**S.C.U.M. Manifesto**_**…"**

**Dr. Stanholtz let out a small chuckle. "Zasz is a more likely suspect than Isley – the man was carved up with knives, it says. Doesn't matter, though, there are so many unsolved crimes in this city I don't even know how our facility's so full…"**

"**We can thank the Batman for that. You and I and everyone's mother all know the G.C.P.D. are virtually useless without our city's most notorious masked vigilante."**

**She stood up, grabbing her clipboard from a stack of shelves in the corner. "Well, off to my second date with the Joker. Have a nice day, Gregory…"**

"**Hey listen, before you take off. Just…I mean, well, be careful with that **_**thing**_**, all right? If I had it my way we would have hung him from the Gallows Tree at Blackgate years ago…" Gregory cleared his throat, adjusting his glasses and giving her a rather meaningful sideways glance.**

**Katelyn nodded. "I will. Don't worry about me, Greg." With that, she left the lounge and headed toward the 2****nd**** floor patient interview room.**

**Joker sat in the hard wooden chair, wriggling in his straight jacket. He was a bit miffed that not only were his jacket straps belted tight today, but so were the extra straps that now belted his legs and chest to the chair. As Katelyn walked in, he slowly looked up at her. **

"**Ahh...late night, doc? A bit of hair a' the dog to keep you going?" He grinned at her as she sat her cup of coffee, the clipboard, and a pen on the sparse table. She reached over and pressed RECORD on the obligatory tape recorder that sat on the corner of the table.**

"**You could say that. I listened to our conversation from yesterday a few times last night. Trying to decide in which direction I think our sessions should start heading." She sat down, crossed her legs and looked at him, wriggling away underneath all those layers of clips and belts and locks and strongly woven fabric. **

"**Are you uncomfortable? Here…" She leaned forward over the table and undid the belts that were keeping his torso strapped to the back of the chair. He could smell incense, like patchouli and opium and lavender and something else – something very familiar and distinctly coppery, but masked - all blended into her skin. He very obviously sniffed her as she leaned over him, inhaling deeply. **

**Katelyn glanced at him and sat back in her own chair, grabbing her pen in one hand and her coffee in the other and scribbled a few notes on the clipboard. "I think you should know, if you don't already, that you don't frighten me, Joker. Not like you frighten the other doctors and staff here."**

**He grinned, leaning forward. A strand of freakishly green hair fell in front of his eyes. "Why don't we talk about _that_, doc? That seems marvelously unusual, wouldn't you say? Why, there are any number of horrible, **_**bloody **_**things I could have done to you just now…"**

**She looked at him as he began giggling and grinding his teeth softly. She looked into his eyes. It was unnerving how clear and calculating they were. "So what stopped you? You murdered Harleen Quinzel recently, a woman you've been known to have quite the…**_**intense**_** relationship with. Why not me, a total stranger?"**

**Joker leaned back in his chair, tilting his head and smiling. "Oh, Harley? Please, doc, old news! She outlived her usefulness. In all honesty – between **_**you and me**_** – she wasn't much of a girlfriend **_**or**_** a sidekick. Hoohoo. She was more of a…" He paused, tilting his head back and looking skyward, trying to think of the correct definition to describe dear old deceased Harley. "…A temporary amusement."**

"**So you broke her neck and had your thugs drop her corpse into the Gotham River?"**

"**Mm…a failed attempt at framing Batman for murder, unfortunately. I suppose, what with our **_**highly publicized**_** relationship, it's a bit of a pity her death didn't come to more. I personally wanted to crucify her on top of the Wayne Enterprises building, but oh well, right? That's the luck of the draw!"**

"**There must have been another reason for murdering her. You couldn't have just wanted her death to justify your sick obsession with destroying the Batman…"**

"**Oh on the contrary, doc! Why, destroying Bats has become, dare I say, my sole purpose in life. Besides making sure Gotham goes out with a **_**bang**_** and a collective **_**smile**_** on its face…" He raised one eyebrow, smirking at her. "And Harley knew it…"**

**Katelyn looked up. "So there was no prior argument? No…domestic dispute of any sort that led you to feel the need to get rid of her?"**

"**Why, the domestic disputes were the most exciting part of our entire relationship! Mmm, punching, kicking, throwing large blunt objects at each other, trying to blow each other to smithereens…. Why doctor, you're making me start to miss the old girl! It might even bring a tear to my eye! Haahahhahhha!"**

**Katelyn sighed, leaning back. "Well, Joker, I think that may be enough for today. I'm going to recommend that you be taken off your Olanzapine I think..."**

"**Aww, doc, no more drugs? Why, those damned little pills are one of the only pleasures a guy like me can get in this rat-trap prison!"**

**Hitting STOP on the tape recorder, pulling the tape out and slipping it in her pocket, Katelyn stood up and gathered her things, smiling slightly. "Those drugs are for the treatment of acute schizophrenia and bipolar disorder…both of which I think you like to fake. So, there's no need for you to be medicated with them. I'm going to try some good, old-fashioned sobriety for your treatment."**

"**Well, how progressive!" Joker laughed as Katelyn pressed the call button on the door for the guards to let her out. As the two guards entered, unclipped the belts around his feet and dragged him up, Joker surprised her with a last word. "I'm very much looking forward to our sessions, doc! I think you and I have a **_**productive**_** future ahead of us." **

**Katelyn stared as the guards dragged him off down the hall by the straps on the back of his straight jacket. He cackled all the way, until they were in the elevator and out of earshot. She chewed her bottom lip, thinking. She knew super criminals; knew them better than most other people. And she knew Joker was up to something.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**The next day, Katelyn entered the interview room around noon, looking a little haggard. She set her things on the table and sat down, adjusting the pashmina scarf tied around her neck. Joker looked across the table at her. "Gee doc, I'm **_**awfully**_** uncomfortable. Would you be a lamb and undo these straps for old uncle Joker again?"**

**She nodded. "Alright. You've been very agreeable for our first few sessions, so I feel comfortable providing you with a small reinforcer." Katelyn stood and bent over the table, reaching over to undo the buckles holding him back against the chair. Right as she was about to sit back down, the Joker suddenly lunged forward and ripped the scarf off her neck, managing to sink his teeth partway into her flesh as he did so.**

**Katelyn reacted purely out of instinct – she planted her knee squarely within mashing distance of his genitals and pushed him back against the wall with a solidly placed forearm against his throat. She ripped the scarf out of his mouth, then reached up to feel the teeth marks in her neck. There was blood on her fingers when she looked at them.**

**The Joker was laughing and choking riotously in equal amounts. "**_**Wh-what was it, doc**_**," he rasped out, "**_**bar fight**_**? **_**Abusive cat**_**?" He coughed a couple times. "**_**Stabbed yourself with a rake!?"**_** This seemed to send him over the edge, and he was cackling maniacally as the two guards posted outside rushed in. One knocked the Joker on the head with the butt of his shotgun and the other was trying to make Katelyn sit down while he radioed for a doctor.**

"**Get off me, I'm fine! I'm going to wash it off!" **

**She stood up and rushed out of the room, heading for the nearest staff restroom. The guards hauled Joker's unconscious body off to his cell while radioing various authorities. **

**When Katelyn got to the bathroom, she walked over to the sinks and bent down, scrubbing the blood off her neck. It had already started soaking into her shirt and her lab coat. She sighed, planting her hands on either side of the sink and looked at herself in the mirror. Joker had seen the vicious scratches running down one side of her neck, and now, because of him, there were fresh bite marks on the other. "Shit."**

**15 minutes later, Katelyn was sitting in the medical ward having the wound stitched up by a stuffy doctor. **

"**You're certainly lucky, Dr. Howel. I can't imagine how he didn't rip your throat out. I'm sorry, but this incident will have to be reported to Warden Sharp. He…he may take you off the Joker's case. You shouldn't have been loosening that monster's restraints."**

**Katelyn looked at him sharply. "No…I want this case, Doctor. It was a careless mistake. I could have prevented it and you know it."**

"**Exactly, Katelyn. That's why this is so serious. Do you know how many murders the Joker's committed that could have been prevented?"**

**She knew he was right, but she also knew why it had happened. She knew the Joker was deadly observant and had seen her around the asylum countless times before they'd started working together; she never normally wore scarves tied around her neck in such a way as today, and he had noticed. She felt foolish for being so reckless. "Doctor, I'm fine. I want to remain his primary psychoanalyst. I loosened his restraints because I'm not afraid of him and I want him to understand that. Now more than ever."**

**The doctor sighed, taping down a clean white bandage on her neck. "Now, these lacerations on the other side – he didn't do this? These wounds have scabbed over already…"**

**Katelyn cleared her throat and began wrapping the scarf back around her neck. "It's nothing. I was walking my dog last night; she picked a fight with another dog. I got in the middle trying to stop it. I got scratched."**

**The doctor looked at her for a moment, then stepped aside. "Alright, Dr. Howel. I'm suggesting you take a few days off and relax. You can take up the matter with Warden Sharp later. I'm sure this has been quite a traumatic day for you."**

**She stood, moving to the door. "I'm fine, really."**

**When Katelyn finally got home several hours later, she was feeling distraught. She had actually been forced to attend a mandatory meeting with Warden Sharp right after she'd left the medical ward; dragged to his office by two burly security guards, no less. The meeting had not gone well, but she had finally convinced the Warden to put her on probation and give her one more chance as the Joker's primary analyst; with constant surveillance of their interviews, of course. She had just barely managed to scrape it together by the skin of her teeth. **

**And now, as if things couldn't get any worse, she was watching a news segment on GCN featuring an interview with an attempted murder victim; a very familiar face from her own escapades the night before. The man whose desperate attempts to save his own life had left her with those gashes on her neck. She sat bolt upright in her chair, flabbergasted. None of them had **_**ever**_** survived. How had he? The dirty, rotten bastard.**

**Fury surged up inside her; she dug her nails into the arms of the chair, feeling her knuckles straining and turning white. She stared at his stupid, fat face on the screen, half covered in bandages and stitches, chatting away with Vicki Vale in his cushy hospital bed. **

"**I don't know, Vicki…It was a woman, she just broke into my house and attacked me. She was dressed in all dark, and had this...mask. She-Wolf. That's what she called herself. Some psycho, saying she was out for revenge…before she started cutting me. I just don't know…"**

"**Well Mr. Alders, it's miraculous that you survived this traumatic and unwarranted experience and I'm sure all of Gotham wishes you the speediest recovery for the election. " Vicki turned to the camera. "This has been Vicki Vale for Gotham City News, interviewing attempted homicide survivor, candidate for governor Mr. Henry Alders. Whoever this She-Wolf character is, she will surely be caught and brought to justice for this horrible crime."**

**Katelyn grimaced. This was the first time she'd slipped. The first time her alias had been mentioned on the news, or anywhere important for that matter. Before now, her kills had been clean, lacking any evidence. All the disgusting filth she'd cleaned out of the city had virtually been forgotten after their names had been revealed tied to any number of sordid undertakings. Katelyn knew her extracurricular activities had a purpose. She wasn't just another nut like Jervis Tetch or Victor Zasz. She was different.**

**Shiva knew when her human was upset. She loped over to Katelyn, jumped up into her lap and almost drowned her with oceans of soft black fur. Katelyn pried one hand off the arm of the chair to pet Shiva. Petting her was always soothing.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**As she donned the She-Wolf suit several nights later, Katelyn's mind was racing. She had to get into Gotham General and finish the job. She had waited until the coast had cleared a bit and security around the candidate for Governor had loosened. The hospital's security guards would surely be easily distractible at 2 a.m. She looked over at Shiva lying on the bed and watching her, and nodded her head once. Shiva jumped off the bed and ran to her side. "Let's go girl. You're my distraction. Why don't you break a leg or two off some of those guards." Shiva looked up at her and growled softly. The next minute, they were both out the window and down the fire escape.**

**At Gotham General, things were quiet. There were two guards posted in the hall where Henry Alders' room was located. One of them was reading a Maxim; the other was playing some bird game on his cell phone. She-Wolf and Shiva had come in through a laundry chute on the floor below, and were now in the shadows of the dark hallway, watching the guards. She looked down at her companion, whispering. "All right Shiva. It's show time. Run."**

**The dog immediately ran out of the shadows and down the hall, barking loudly. Her intent was not actually to harm the guards, but merely to draw them away from Alders' room long enough for She-Wolf to get in. If a scuffle began, however, Shiva was never opposed to taking the offensive. **

**As the guards yelled and began chasing the animal, She-Wolf swooped in. She used a key card swiped from a doctor's lab coat to gain access to the room, then locked it and blockaded it behind her. Alders, hearing the sounds, awoke, snorting and incoherent.**

"**H-hello? Who's there? Nurse?"**

**She-Wolf jumped onto the bed, the hilts of her knives glistening in the moonlight as she crouched over him. "Not quite, Henry. Next guess?"**

"**N-no…no! Dear God, no! Who **_**are**_** you!?"**

**Before replying, She-Wolf grabbed one of her knives and flung it behind her with expert precision, knocking out the lens of the security camera on the ceiling. "Why, I am your executioner, Henry."**

"**Why? Why? I don't even know you, why are you doing this? What did I do!? God help me!" He began muttering and praying and crying a little bit as she pulled another knife from its sheath on her thigh and stuck it against his neck.**

"**You'd be wise not to mention that name in my presence, Henry. Where was God when your drug runners took my husband's life? Where was God when you had him **_**killed**_** because I refused to risk my job for your greed?" She leaned in closer, pressing the knife into his skin. "**_**Where was God when **_**you**_** reaped the benefits of my husband and son's deaths?**_**"**

**Henry Alder's eyes widened with fear and realization. "H-Howel?!"**

**Katelyn gritted her teeth, pressing the blade in harder, beginning to draw blood. "My son was only **_**three years old**_** when your hired goons took him from his bed…my son died innocent, and you've lived a corrupt and dishonest life far too long. Say good night, Henry."**

**She swiftly eviscerated him, opening him up from throat to stomach and getting covered in blood. She heard scuffling outside and jumped off the bed, reached up on tippy-toes to grab the knife out of the broken camera lens, then unblocked the door and opened it. "Shiva!"**

**The dog came bolting around the corner, dripping blood from her mouth. She-Wolf grabbed a chair and heaved it through the window, then her and the wolf-dog jumped through and out into the night before the guards could even catch up.**

**When Katelyn got back to her apartment, she changed out of the She-Wolf costume in the bathroom and put it in hydrogen peroxide to soak out the blood. She began washing off her face, but she had to stop as the tears came. She hated breaking down like this, but the memory of that tragic night was always still so fresh in her mind. One of the reasons she'd taken the job at Arkham was to begin trying to understand how she could help herself by helping others, but it had only exposed her to the underworld of Gotham's super criminals, and a way in which she could take revenge on all those who'd helped to murder her family. She-Wolf was Katelyn's escape from her oppressive and devastating waking life.**

**She heard a noise in the other room and looked up, listening intently. She moved to the doorway, peering around. Another rustle, then the sound of something smashing near the front door. She bent down and grabbed a knife out of one of the sheaths on the floor, then began slowly and quietly making her way toward the other side of the apartment. She was appalled to see the Joker there, picking up a broken picture frame that he'd apparently tipped off a shelf and onto the floor. **

"**Nice family, kiddo…" He shot her a sideways glance. "Too bad they're dead."**

**She swallowed back more tears, clearing her throat. "How did you get out of Arkham, Joker?"**

"**Oh, I've got some friends in pret-**_**ty**_** high places, doc," he sharply annunciated. "Mm, sorry about the picture. Your, uh, pooch there gave me a bit of a scare. Say, are you sure it's legal for you to have that thing?" he asked sarcastically. "I mean Harley had those hyenas, but that thing looks like it could take down a _yak_!" He giggled.**

**Shiva was standing in the dark dining room, her eyes glistening and her hackles up. She was growling; a long, low sound. **

**Katelyn pulled her bathrobe tight around her, still clutching the knife, trying to stay reasonable. "Why come _here_ after breaking out? You know I have to call the police to come pick you up…"**

**He set the broken frame back on the shelf, and took a step toward her. "C'mon now, I just got here! That's no way to make a guy feel welcome!"**

"**Are you here to kill me?" **

"**Why spoil all the fun by answering a question like **_**that**_**? Why, when I finally woke up the other day and heard we couldn't have our little chats **_**in private**_** anymore, I just couldn't stand for it! I hate having big brother breathing down my back, don't you?" He began strolling around, picking up little trinkets and knick-knacks and examining them, then tossing them away when he lost interest. **

**She followed him at a distance. "How did you know about my family?"**

"**Why, toots, do you really think I'd let any of you nuts down at Arkham hold those **_**intimate**_** 60 Minutes interviews with me without a background check first? I know **_**tons **_**of things about you…" He picked up a candle; sniffed it; tossed it on the floor behind him. **

**Katelyn tensed for a moment. "How much do you know about me?"**

"**Tell me where those scratches came from, and I'll tell you something about yourself. Hm?"**

**She couldn't risk it. He couldn't know her alter ego. "My dog. We were playing a little too roughly. Now tell me how you came to know so much about my life."**

"**Hm." He smiled, picking up a book from her coffee table and flipping through it aimlessly before tossing it. "Plausible. But I don't really buy it. And as to how I know so much, well, you'd be surprised how much **_**dirt**_** Warden Sharp has on his doctors right in his filing cabinets. Like I said, big brother." His eyes seemed to twinkle at her.**

"**Fair enough. I won't even ask how you got into the warden's office. You still haven't told me why you're here." Shiva was by her side now.**

"**Oh, doc. Always so calm and **_**logical**_**. I applaud you, I really do. If **_**my**_** family had been plugged and Gotham's most wanted criminal was strolling around **_**my**_** apartment, why, I think I would go **_**plum crazy**_**." He smiled at her, giggling. "In fact, I wonder if that's what happened?" He looked serious for a moment.**

"**Yes, well, I've found ways of dealing with it. What do you **_**want**_**, Joker?"**

**He walked closer to her and Shiva began growling again. Katelyn placed a hand on her head and she whined for a second and then quieted down. Katelyn looked up at him, twisting the knife in her other hand.**

"**Were you, uh, cutting up a cow before I dropped by, doc? There's an awful lot of blood on that little knife. And here, on your face…" He grabbed her chin roughly with his hand and held her still as he leaned down and licked the specks of dry blood on her cheek that she hadn't scrubbed off. **_**That**_** was the coppery smell from the other day…duh. Interesting.**

**Katelyn's entire body tensed, and she squeezed the knife tight. Shiva reacted immediately and launched herself at the Joker, sinking her teeth into his arm. He grunted and kicked Shiva off, and Katelyn snapped to her senses and stuck the point of the knife against his gut, pushing him back into the wall.**

"**No more games! _What the fuck do you want Joker_?"**

**He panted, grinning and chuckling and holding his arm. Blood was starting to soak through his tattered purple sleeve and he squeezed it tight with his other hand. "Oh, just **_**this**_**. Really toots, you have no idea how reassuring it is to have met a woman that's not a complete **_**pushover**_**!" As he was saying the last bit, he quickly grabbed her wrist and wrenched the knife away from her and pushed her backwards, so she fell over onto her big recliner. In a second he was on top of her, and before she even knew it Shiva was elbowed aside and unconscious on the floor a few feet away. Now she was finally getting nervous. **

"_**You see, doc, this is me**_**! I'm out again, and I've got plans! And **_**no one**_** is going to **_**help**_** that. NO ONE!" He held the knife against her cheek and brushed her hair back out of her face roughly with his other hand. One of his knees was jabbed into her stomach, and she coughed, finding it hard to breathe.**

"**M-maybe that's…" She coughed again. "…Not what I was trying to do." She gulped, straining. She would never beg him for her life. **

**He frowned, lessening his weight on top of her slightly. "Oh? Then what **_**are**_** you trying to do, **_**doc**_**? Hmm? Thinking of pulling a Harley? Joining **_**my**_** ranks? Funny, how the position's just opened back up." He giggled. "And you would certainly **_**fit**_** the position…" He sneered lasciviously.**

**She gasped in a breath of air, but tried not to struggle. She was strong and well trained, but she knew he had an advantage. "I…I don't know. But if you'll just give yourself up…go back to Arkham and we can keep having our sessions. You obviously have some interest in those…"**

**He chuckled harder. "You got me all wrong, toots. Sure, I enjoy it when I get a chance to play tinker-toy with your minds in there. But the only reason I **_**ever**_** go back is because I want to…and you've given me some inspiration to stay out for a while. I think I like our sessions **_**here**_** much better…"**

**She spied him moving the knife out of the corner of her eye and took her chance. She lunged and bit down hard on his wrist. She lurched as he doubled and his knee dug deep into her stomach, but she gathered up whatever coherency she could manage and punched him square on the mouth and scrambled out from underneath him as he reeled. **

**The Joker slapped his hand over his mouth and cursed, but quickly regained himself. "Hoohoo!" He lunged, pinning her on the ground and holding her wrists above her head so she couldn't get at him. "You know, toots, I kinda like you…you've got **_**spunk**_**." He turned his head and spat out a glob of blood, grinning. "There's something about you, some secret. The blood, those scratches…the way you **_**fight**_**…I think you've got more in common with Batsy and me than you do with those fruit-loops at Arkham calling themselves doctors. I'd like to play with you for a little bit longer…" He began cackling again and swiftly head-butted her, knocking her out. He then stood up, kicked the knife out of her hand, and spit out some more blood.**

**He walked across the apartment and grabbed the picture of her family he'd been looking at earlier. He decided he might take it as a little memento of their burgeoning relationship. "You're gonna be a fun little nut to crack, kiddo…" He stuck the picture frame into a pocket on the inside breast of his coat, then left the apartment laughing.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Hours later, Katelyn awoke coughing and sputtering. Shiva was licking her face. She gently pushed the dog away and curled up in agony. Her guts were killing her from having Joker's knee dug so deep into them, and her brain felt like it was about 12 times too big for her skull. "Fuck…"**

**She slowly rolled over and propped herself up. Her head began to spin from the pain. With all her strength, she managed to crawl to the toilet before she vomited. Afterwards she dry-heaved a few times, shaking all over. She crossed her arms on the toilet bowl and buried her head there, trying to think of what she was going to do. If she alerted Sharp to the Joker's presence in her apartment, security would probably be sent over to guard her and her own crazy alter ego might be discovered. Also, Joker might actually kill her if he found out she'd told anyone. **_**He **_**was also dangerously close to discovering who she was. She found herself wondering what he would say about She-Wolf.**

**She uncurled herself and slid down onto the cold bathroom floor, closing her eyes. Shiva silently came over and lay beside her. Katelyn stayed right there for hours, her mind flitting in and out of consciousness in a mixture of shock, exhaustion and confusion.**

**When she finally awoke again, it was full daylight and she could hear the city bustling outside her windows. She sat up, rubbing her face in her hands, then stood and made her way into the other room. She turned on the television, which still happened to be on the local news.**

"**This is Vicki Vale, coming back to you from Gotham General in what was once candidate for Governor Henry Alders' recovery room. Now, it is the scene of a grisly murder. I have with me one of the guards who was on duty outside the room last night – Mr. Colpek, can you please tell me what happened here?"**

**Katelyn fell back into her chair, watching. The camera panned to a gaunt security guard with his arm in a sling. "Well, Vicki…Ron and I were guarding the guy's room, ya know, like we were s'posed to, and this…**_**thing**_** just flew out of the shadows! I thought it was a bear or something come down from the woods, ya know, but…it was a wolf. I know it; I saw it. It took a bite outta me and dislocated my arm after it…after it killed Ronny and I shot at it. Somebody had to have **_**trained**_** that thing to get us outta the way while they went in and killed that guy…"**

**Vicki turned back to the camera. "A wolf roaming the halls of Gotham General… Well ladies and gentlemen, it seems as if a new super criminal **_**has**_** joined the ranks of Gotham's underworld. She goes by the alias 'She-Wolf,' and has apparently trained an **_**actual**_** wild animal to assist in her fell crimes. It is our sincerest hope here at Gotham City News that the G.C.P.D. **_**or**_** Batman is able to discern the identity of this deadly new threat to our city. If you, our viewers, have any information on the identity of She-Wolf, please call the G.C.P.D. at this numb…"**

**Katelyn shut off the television. Shit. She'd forgotten about Batman. With all this publicity, he was more likely to find out who she was than the Joker. Suddenly, though, she had the workings of a plan. If she could get to the roof of the police department and figure out how to turn on that big weird bat-shaped signal light, she could probably get the Batman to beat the shit out of Joker and drag **_**his**_** ass back to Arkham instead of her having to figure out some way to do it while trying to keep Batman off her own trail. As long as Joker was free and targeting her, she would never be safe.**

**When she was feeling a little better, she decided to call the asylum. She was sure she'd missed several calls from Warden Sharp already about the fact that her patient had escaped. When she finally got a hold of him, her suspicions were confirmed. She had to apologize for not being home to answer the Warden's urgent calls, but that she had left town for a few days to relax with family and **_**had**_** in fact been alerted through the news that the Joker was again at large. She thanked him for his concern and assured him she was taking the utmost precaution and that, no, she had not come in contact with him since he had escaped. She informed him that she would return to work the next week and why, **_**yes**_**, she would **_**love**_** to start creating a case file on this hot new She-Wolf character to present to Vicki Vale on GCN for the news at noon in a few weeks.**

**The next evening, as she was just saying goodbye to the friendly locksmith who'd installed 3 new locks on her apartment door, she entered her living room to find a dark figure silhouetted in her window. She stopped dead in her tracks, feeling goose bumps crawling across her arms and back. Anybody and their mother could say what they wanted about how loony this guy was, but **_**damn**_**, could he give you the heebie-jeebies.**

"**Dr. Howel, I'd like to speak with you…" He stepped toward her. **

**She swallowed what felt like her stomach. "A-about what?"**

"**The Joker. I'm sure you're aware he escaped from Arkham two nights ago. In fact, given his track record with doctors, I made you my first priority in tracking him down."**

**After swallowing her stomach, she felt it do a backflip. She cleared her throat and nodded at him, then made her way toward the kitchen to put the kettle on the stove. Her mouth was suddenly very dry. "Yes, I am…**_**acutely**_** aware of his recent escapades. Funny how word travels so fast in this town."**

**Batman followed her into her kitchen. "I keep tabs on every criminal I put into Arkham, Katelyn. I know he attacked you last week. That's why I'm here. His behavior points to you as a prime subject for whatever sick new game he's devised. Something you'll learn about the Joker if you live long enough: he never leaves Arkham without a plan."**

**Katelyn looked over at him and curled her arms around herself. She felt a cold shiver run down her spine. It wasn't entirely unpleasant. **

**Batman moved close to her, looked down at her. "It seems like you've been in more than one fight recently…this bruise on your head looks fresh."**

**She cleared her throat and turned away, tending to the teakettle as it began to whistle. "He…he showed up here last night. Threw me around a little bit, gave me a good scare. But he left without killing me, so…"**

**He was very obviously examining her other wounds. "I see. Katelyn, you're in a lot of danger right now. If you know what's best for you, you'll leave Gotham for a while. At least until I get that madman back in his cell, where he belongs…"**

"**Now, listen, I can't just up and leave. I have a job, I have things to do!"**

"**Is any of that more important than your life? He killed Harley Quinn, and he's killed countless others before her. There's absolutely no reason he won't do the same to you…"**

**She chewed her lip nervously. "I'm his doctor. I need to try and help him."**

"**There **_**is**_** no helping him, Katelyn. We've been at this for years. He will never stop. Even if this fight kills **_**me**_**, it will never be enough for him. Think about what I said. You need to leave."**

"**I don't know…" She went over to her cupboard to grab a mug for her tea, and when she turned around again to face him, he was gone. Back out the window, she supposed. Well, at least now she didn't have to climb up to the roof of the G.C.P.D.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**A window smashed in Henry Alders' office. She-Wolf went straight to his filing cabinet with a small flashlight held in her teeth, flipping through the countless folders located within. She needed names. There had to be something hidden here, somewhere. She moved from the filing cabinet to the desk. One of the drawers was locked. She pulled a small crowbar out of her boot and jimmied it open. More files. Finally, at the very bottom, she found what she was looking for. An entire case file related to Alder's drug running scams. She scanned it. It might as well have been her husband and son's death warrant. It was dated a week before their abduction. Leave it to these business types to save a copy of every hit they put out. Probably for tax purposes. She stuffed the papers and the crowbar into her boot, turned off the flashlight, then grabbed the rope from the line she'd launched that was stuck above the window and hopped back out into the night.**

**When Katelyn got back to her apartment she did some research. She now had a list of names that were tied directly to both Alders' smuggling ring and her family's deaths. She decided to start at the top and work her way down. She needed to find out what Marvin Mallone and Tommy Marcino were up to these days. She found an address for Marvin on a sexual offenders website. She was betting she could get old Tommy boy's location out of Marvin when she found him. She whistled to Shiva and nodded her head toward the fire escape. "Let's go girl."**

**When she found Marvin's apartment building it was about what she had expected: a rundown old shithole in the middle of a bad neighborhood. "Up!" Shiva followed her command and loped up the fire escape stairs, followed closely by her mistress. They climbed in through the window and scaled a few more flights of stairs to find apartment 525. When She-Wolf reached the door, she pulled a lock pick out of her sleeve and entered the apartment quietly. She could hear snoring in the other room. She tiptoed into the bedroom, sliding two knives out of their sheaths as she went. Shiva loped along silently beside her. She stood above the sleeping man, twisting the knives in her hands. He was a big guy. She'd have to play this one close to the chest to get the job done – he could easily overpower her if he had the opportunity. She stuck one of the knives into his stomach, digging it in painfully. "Wake up, Marvin."**

**His eyes popped open and he grunted, swinging his arm at her. She quickly sidestepped and then moved in, motioning for Shiva to jump up on top of the man and keep him subdued. The wolf-dog obeyed, jumping up onto the man's chest and growling and snarling. The man sunk back against his pillow, gasping.**

"**W-who are you!?"**

"**No time for your questions, Marvin. I need you to answer mine first. Where is your friend, Tommy Marcino? If you don't answer me, **_**my**_** friend here is going to rip your throat out."**

**He sputtered, groaning. "W-we…Joker got us jobs…fixed us up. He won't let you get away with this!"**

**She scoffed, wrenching the knife out of Marvin's stomach. "We'll see about that, Marvin. But thanks. That's all I needed to know. Here's a few things for you to think about: one for James, and one for Isaac…"**

**She jammed one knife into his left eye, then the other into his right eye, then stuffed his own shirt into his mouth so his screams wouldn't echo through the building. After he finally lay still, she pulled the knives out, wiped them on the sheets, then stuck them back in their sheaths and motioned for Shiva to follow her out of the apartment.**

**Joker's newest hideout was in an old abandoned toy factory on the east side of the city. He sat on a makeshift throne at the end of a long warehouse, idly staring at the picture he'd stolen of Katelyn's family. He looked up as one of his henchmen approached.**

"**Got your paper, boss. Anything else you want?" The guy looked like he could have been Bane's brother; he was big. He lumbered up the stairs to Joker's seat and handed him that day's Gotham Daily.**

"**Yep…get rid of that guard tied up in the office. He'll get stale if you leave him there another day." He giggled and shooed the thug away.**

"**Sure thing, boss." The big galoot turned and trudged back down the stairs and into the shadows of the warehouse.**

**Joker tossed the picture aside and settled in, trying to decide if he wanted to read the funnies or the obituaries first. He spied an article on the front page that caught his interest first, however.**

"_**Candidate for Governor Alders Narrowly Escapes Death; Dies**_**!" Ooohohooo, good, I hated that fat chump anyway! Dumping money into Arkham like it's a good idea…" He scanned the article, frowning. "She-Wolf…new super criminal…Alders said he fought back the first time…cut up with knives, oo, not a bad way to go…guard says they were attacked by a…**_**wolf**_**…"**

**He picked up a walkie-talkie that was sitting next to him. "Tommy! Go get Marvin… I need you boys to dig up some dirt for me!"**

**He heard static for a moment, then screaming, then silence. Finally, Tommy's voice hit his ears. "Boss, we got a problem. I just heard on the scanner while I was takin' care of that guard…Marvin's dead! His eyes was stabbed out!"**

"**WHAT!?" Joker gripped the walkie-talkie so hard he thought he might crush it. Tommy went on babbling.**

"**The cops said his name and everything! I know it was him, boss! They're sayin' it's that Wolf broad…"**

**Joker began grinding his teeth. Every other criminal in Gotham knew better than to fuck with **_**his**_** goons. This was it. She-Bitch had just sent out an official declaration of war. Slowly, he loosened his death-grip on the walkie-talkie and held it up to his mouth.**

"**Get me a live feed to every television in Gotham. **_**Now**_**…"**

**30 minutes later, Joker was addressing a camera hacked into every cable box, satellite television, and internet connection in the city. **

"**Dear citizens of Gotham! Sorry if you get bored of dear old uncle Joker's voice echoing through your TV rooms, but I've got a favor to ask you all! I'd like to set up a little meeting with our sweet new celebrity in town. She-Wolf, sweets, if you're out there, I'd highly suggest you drop by for a visit. You see, **_**nobody**_** knocks off **_**my**_** guys but ME, and this little invitation is going to keep running **_**every hour**_** until you come and find me. And just as a little incentive…" He motioned for the camera to pan over, and when it did, it revealed countless barrels covered with large, crudely drawn grinning faces. "All this **_**beautiful**_** Joker Toxin will be dumped into Gotham's water supply from an undisclosed location in **_**24 hours**_** if you don't show up. Oh and Bats, because I know **_**you're**_** inevitably watching this too, don't even think about trying to save her, catch her, or follow her here. As soon as I've found out you've done **_**any**_** of those things…**_**glug glug glug**_**, **_**straight into the water it goes**_**! Oh and since I **_**know**_** you'll also **_**inevitably**_** try and stop that from happening, I've got a back up. Several of my guys are out on the streets as we speak setting up some remote-detonation explosives in, oh, a **_**bunch**_** of wacky places! The maternity ward of a hospital, a veterans' home, some stupid billionaire's basement!" He leaned in ominously close to the camera. "If I don't get my She-Wolf, Gotham can't keep its innocent, its war heroes, or its stupid billionaires!" He ducked out of the picture for a moment, rummaging around, then re-entered the screen and held a business card up to the camera. It gave the name of the dead CEO of the Happy-Laughs Toy Company, his phone number, and the building's address. "Here I am, toots. **_**And remember…no Batman, no cops…just you…"**_

**He flicked the business card at the camera then fell back into his throne and kicked his feet up, cackling maniacally as the feed was disconnected and all of Gotham's television screens returned to their original programming for another 60 minutes.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Katelyn had fallen into a heavy sleep when she'd finally gotten home; her dreams were turbid and short, one murky scene jumping to the next, and the last thing she remembered before her eyes snapped open was seeing herself with a vicious, red-lipped grin. She sat up in bed, then turned toward the direction of the television in the living room. Sometimes she left it on all night when she took off on her escapades so the neighbors would think she was still there, living her boring psychologist's life one episode of **_**Gotham City Pawn Stars **_**at a time.**

**What she was currently hearing wasn't reruns, however; it was the Joker's voice, harsh and biting. **

"…_**Nobody**_** knocks off **_**my**_** guys but ME, and this little invitation is going to keep running **_**every hour**_**…"**

**She practically fell out of bed and ran out to the living room to watch the rest of the video. Her first thought was that he took the murder of one of his henchmen way more seriously than she ever thought he would. Her psychologist's mind began to take over and she wondered if this was just his excuse to remind everyone how crazy he was by threatening the destruction of Gotham once again; **_**or**_** if henchmen really meant that much to a super criminal; **_**or**_** if henchmen acted as an extension of his own deep-seated insecurities; **_**or**_** if he was using her as a lure to draw out the Batman for one more **_**battle royale**_** before they **_**all **_**got shipped off to Arkham to bunk up in a padded cell.**

**She squinted and crawled up close to the TV when he held up the card. "Happy-Laughs… All right Joker. See you soon."**

**She donned the She-Wolf outfit and covered it with a long pea coat. It was impossible to move through Gotham during the day without being noticed by **_**somebody**_**, and she wanted to play it safe. She stuffed the wolf mask into her purse and clipped a leash on Shiva as if they were going for a walk. They left her apartment building and headed toward the east side of the City.**

**When she arrived near the docks, she saw the old factory looming in the distance ahead of her. The sky had grown dark on her walk, and it threatened rain any minute. She unclipped Shiva from the leash and stuffed it into her purse and bid Shiva to keep close as she ran toward a large stack of pallets and climbed on top of them to get a better view of the entrance of the warehouse. There were armed thugs meandering around outside the doors. She quickly jumped off and ran around the corner of the building, shedding her pea coat on the way and pulling on her wolf mask. "Sic 'em." **

**She pulled a grapple gun from her purse and shot it up at the roof, riding the line up as it retracted. She could hear Shiva barking and growling down below and a few gunshots going off. She stuck the grapple gun back onto her belt and crawled swiftly along the roof until she found a large skylight that provided a view down into the warehouse. Suddenly the sky cracked and the rain started pounding down on her with a thunder and lightning accompaniment. She saw more thugs running toward the front doors in response to the commotion Shiva had started. When it looked as if the coast was clear, she grabbed a large chunk of brick that had fallen from one of the crumbling chimneys on the roof and smashed it through the skylight, shot the grapple gun through the hole in the roof and swung down into the warehouse, hooking around to the side and dropping down to the floor in a corner. She stayed near the wall, in the shadows, and listened. **

"**My dear Wolfy, is that you!? Come in and **_**have a seat**_**!" She heard maniacal laughter and all of a sudden a whirring and gear-grinding sound started up behind her and her soaking body was bathed in a bright light. A giant 15-foot toy robot painted with macabre clown colors started moving toward her, pincer hands snapping open and closed. She tried to dart out of the way but the thing must have had some sort of advanced motion sensor, and its pincer arm slammed down on top of her, knocking the breath out of her. She wheezed and struggled as the robot closed its pincer around her and lifted her up, carrying her toward the dimly lit throne at the back of the warehouse.**

"**Ahh, how do you like my new toy, Wolfy? Isn't he marvelous! I had to tweak him a bit after I found him, but I think this redesign is **_**much better**_**!"**

**She could see his grinning face as he stood up from his throne and began descending the steps to meet her. She tried fruitlessly to pull the pincer apart, but it was steel and wasn't going to budge. She had to think quickly. She scanned the robot for some sort of control panel or wiring circuitry, spotted a hydraulic mechanism hooking out of the joint in its neck, and quickly shoved a knife into it, hacking through some of the wires and flinching away as hot steam and sparks began to shoot from the coils she'd cut. The robot halted in its steps, emitting a loud alarm and went to reach for her with its other pincer as the first one's lock began to loosen and set her free.**

**She-Wolf wriggled out of the robot's steel grip and flipped over the other arm that was swinging down to grab her. She landed behind the robot and jumped up onto its back, prying open the control panel there with the knife she pulled out of its neck and stuck it into what looked like a hard drive. Sparks flew at her as the robot seemed to shrug, then straighten, then crumple down into itself. She stabbed and stabbed at the techy bits in its back, until the thing was on the floor, silent. The Joker clapped as he reached the bottom of the stairs, tilting his head and eyeing her. **

"**Hmm, resourceful little minx aren't you… " He pulled a large-barreled gun out from under one arm, tapping it against his leg impatiently. "Ya know, toots, for some reason I'm not nearly as pissed about old Rocky the Robot here as I am about my man Marvin. I mean, the audacity! Killing my henchmen all willy-nilly..." He edged around the broken heap of robot toward her. **

"**Marvin and I had unfinished business, Joker. You're just going to have to deal with that. Give me Tommy Marcino and this'll be the **_**last time**_** you have to deal with it…" **_**She**_** edged around the robot, backing away from the Joker.**

**He erupted into a riotous cackle. "You want **_**another**_** one of my boys!? What do you think this is, toots, Kill-Joker's-Henchmen-Day!? Do you know how much stolen money I have to spend just to get those guys' records cleaned!?" He lifted the gun and aimed it at her.**

**She grabbed a knife from the sheath on her thigh and flung it at him, cutting his hand and causing him to fumble and drop the gun. **

"**What's the big deal?" She grabbed another knife and lunged, pressing it against his neck as the Joker, on his knees on the floor, grabbed the gun and pointed it at her again. They seemed to have reached a stalemate. "I'm sure you've got guys clambering all over each other just to have you get them killed. What's the difference if I do it or not?"**

**The Joker raised an eyebrow, seemingly bewildered that she would even ask that question. "Why, it's the principle of the thing, toots!" He pistol-whipped the knife out of her hand, stood up, and squeezed the trigger. "Bang!"**

**She clasped her hand and shut her eyes in fear as the gun went off. There was a deafening sound and smoke seemed to be choking up her throat, but right as she backed straight into the arms of Tommy Marcino, she opened her eyes and saw that the gun had only shot out a handful of confetti and a flag that read "BANG!"**

**The Joker laughed and laughed as She-Wolf struggled to get out of the man's grip, but he had her arms clasped behind her back tightly and she quickly discovered that if she struggled too much, he would dislocate or break them. **

"**Tommy my boy, good timing! I suspect Wolfy's little sidekick has been taken care of?"**

"**Yeah boss, and it's still alive, just like ya said. "**

"**Good…bring it to me. I want to test out my little theory…" Joker fingered the gun in his hand idly, humming to himself as he waited.**

**As Katelyn panted in the behemoth's grip, two more thugs walked out of the shadows dragging the lifeless form of a dog behind them. They were both bloody and would need some serious stitches after this was over.**

"**Shiva…" She struggled uselessly, beginning to panic. "Don't touch her!"**

**Joker walked over to the dog, dropping to a knee and lifting up its head to look at it. "You know it's **_**some**_** coincidence that there would be two dogs **_**just like this**_** in Gotham…." He let the dog's head drop to the floor and stood up, walking toward the woman struggling in Tommy's arms.**

**The Joker grinned, flicking at the mask that covered her face. She grimaced, turning her head to the side to try and avoid him. He grabbed her chin roughly and made her face him, leaning his face in close. **

**She couldn't help thinking that he smelled remarkably nice for a total psycho. She swallowed hard. "Do whatever you want to me… but don't touch her again."**

**The Joker raised an eyebrow, looking at her quizzically, then looking at the dog, and then looking back at her. "You care more about that fleabag than you do about your own self? Hm, how poignant." While continuing to stare into her eyes, he pointed the popgun in the direction of the dog.**

"**You think you're gonna fool me with that again?" **

**He smiled at her and pulled the trigger. A deafening bang echoed through the room. She heard the dog yelp once as the shock of the bullet snapped her out of her stupor for a moment before she fell back dead. She-wolf trembled, her eyes widening. Joker smiled a little wider. "Trick gun, gets 'em every time." His laughter echoed in the silence.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**She-Wolf's breathing became ragged. Rage and a familiar, overwhelming sense of loss flooded her mind. **

**The Joker started cackling and backed away a step, sweeping his arm in the direction of her dead dog. "Tell me _doc_, how does that make you feel!?" He began cackling harder and reached into his coat, seemingly rummaging for something. **

**Katelyn screamed and attempted to gather up enough force to kick one of Tommy Marcino's legs out from under him. The guy wasn't slow though; he wrenched her up with his huge arms and she immediately felt a seething hot pain fly through every nerve in her body as something was bent in the entirely wrong direction. She cried out and dropped to her knees while Joker walked back over to her. He leaned down, pulling a single shackle out of his coat. He clipped it around her neck, the act of which activated the thing and caused a small red light to come on. "This bitch needs a leash!" He cackled. **

**Just as Joker was about to give the order for Tommy to take her away, a huge black shadow dropped from the ceiling, knocking Joker over. The Batman had finally arrived. Wasting no time, he whipped a batarang at Tommy, who took it straight in the face and fell over with a thump behind the slumped and crying woman on the floor. The Batman turned back to the Joker. **

**Joker, on the floor, quickly yanked a walkie-talkie off his belt and screamed into it for his thugs to detonate the bombs and dump the Joker Toxin. **

**The Batman kicked the walkie-talkie out of his hand and stepped on his forearm, pinning it to the ground while Joker growled. "I've neutralized your toxin and the G.C.P.D.'s bomb squad has disarmed your bombs. You're through, Joker…"**

**Infuriated, the Joker pushed a secret button that caused a knife to pop out of the sleeve of his coat and into his free hand. He thrust it at Batman's calf, but the dark knight was seconds too quick and he kicked Joker so hard in the face that the clown was out cold in seconds. **

**The Batman quickly injected She-Wolf with a tranquilizer, picked her up, and grappled up through the ceiling.**

**Hours later, Katelyn awoke on a bare table in a dark, cavernous room. She went to feel if her mask still covered her face, but cried out with the renewed realization that something was horribly not right with her left arm. A few moments later, Batman stepped out of the shadows and walked over to the table. **

**"Katelyn, we need to have a serious talk. But first, sit still…" He took her arm gently, and while she cried out in agony he forced it back into the shoulder socket it had popped out of.**

**Katelyn panted, rubbing her arm gently. Batman tossed her mask onto the table next to her, and then zip tied both her hands and her feet so she was essentially immobile. She put up no fight, simply staring into space.**

**"Shiva…" Tears welled up in her eyes.**

**Batman sat down next to the table and looked at her. "Why, Katelyn?"**

**Only her eyes moved to meet him. "Why what?"**

**"Why the mask? Why kill Henry Alders, Joe Farenti, Marvin Mallone? Why throw away your career, your entire_ life_?"**

**She looked down at the ground. "What life am I throwing away? Honestly, everything stopped when James and Isaac were murdered…"**

**Batman frowned under his mask. He had done some research on Dr. Howel, and knew that her family had died under mysterious circumstances. "Murdered?"**

**She lifted her head slightly to look at him again. It seemed odd to be sitting here having a conversation with Gotham's roof-skulking vigilante. "You must know how much money Alders donated to Arkham. Consequently, he had the privilege of having anyone who crossed him locked up in that dungeon. He…he wanted me to smuggle large quantities of highly addictive drugs through the hospital and into the hands of his cartel. He could have just had me locked up when I refused… instead, he-" she trembled slightly, fighting back more tears. "He kidnapped my husband and my son… and he killed them to send me a message. Joe Farenti was the lawyer who got all the charges dropped and the story covered up; Marvin Mallone was one of his many henchmen. The only thing I've had to look forward to for some time now is watching them all die…"**

**Batman seemed struck by her story. He didn't speak for some time.**

**"And now they've killed my little dog, too…" Katelyn began laughing softly and the sound blended with her sobs.**

**The batman stood and moved next to her. "But the career you've cultivated… I'll have to turn you in Katelyn, you know that. Everything you've worked towards is lost now."**

**She shook, sniffed, and spat on the floor, looking up at him with a hard, teary gaze. "How do you know what I've lost?!"**

**"You don't want to know how I know. The point is, there were other ways to channel your anger."**

**"Well it's a little late for your pep talk now, isn't it!? The only difference between you and me is that I went one step farther and gave those bastards what they actually deserved, instead of a vacation to Arkham…"**

**"_You'll_ be taking a vacation there soon enough. I'm going to run some tests on that collar Joker put on you, then I'll be back." He turned and walked off towards a large computer system set back up on another level of the cave.**

**Katelyn wiped her face on her sleeve and then set to thinking. All her knives were gone, except… She wiggled her feet a bit. There was still a small dagger hidden inside one of her boots. She maneuvered a bit, bending her body forward and slipping some of her fingers in between the boot and her calf. It took some finagling, but finally she managed to slide the blade out and grip it between two fingers. She worked diligently, and after a few minutes of sawing, dropping the blade, picking it up, and sawing some more she managed to free her hands of the zip tie. She quickly sawed through the tie binding her ankles together and hopped off the table.**

**_Screw your tests_****, she thought. She reached up and pulled at the collar, but it seemed solid. She fingered the thing until she found the seam where each side interlocked, and then took the blade and began trying to pry the thing loose. **

**She heard footsteps walking toward her and began working the blade more frantically.**

**"Katelyn, that collar has traces of Joker's toxin gas all over it. You'll need to let me –"**

**As he appeared in her view there was a snap and the collar unlocked. A sickly yellowish gas began seeping out around Katelyn's neck. She dropped the blade and chuckled slightly. "Heh… heheh…"**

**Batman paused for a moment, then ran to her. "Katelyn, NO!"**

**He quickly placed a mask over his face with one hand and with the other ripped the collar off and threw it deep into the abyss of the cave, but it was too late. She was cackling now, clutching at her throat as tears began streaming down her face. She started swinging at him recklessly, and before he could grab her to try and subdue her, she stumbled off the edge of the platform they were standing on and plummeted down toward the bottom of the batcave. A splash echoed up to him from the depths of the abyss, and he was sure that she was dead.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**The underground river flowing below Wayne Manor emptied out into Gotham Bay. Along with the random debris picked up from the banks of miles of underground tunnels, a soggy body spilled out into the inlet and was washed up onto the rocks.**

**When Joker awoke, he was in his bed in the warehouse, and Tommy was watching over him. He groaned and ripped a damp towel off his face. He yelped as a clump of dried blood came off with it. "Bats got me a good one… Where's the girl?"**

"**He took her," replied Tommy. He had a good-sized gash and a bruise on the bridge of his nose where the batarang had made contact.**

"**Filthy flying shit-rat!" Joker sat up and lifted his sleeve and looked at a strap that was fitted around his wrist. It had a light that coincided with the one that shone on Katelyn's collar when it was active and safe. The little bulb was dark. He frowned. "Well, she released the gas…she must be dead. That's too bad, I really **_**did**_** want to play with her some more!" He pounded his fist in a childlike fit of displeasure.**

"**Why'd you put that thing on her in the first place, boss?"**

"**To keep her cooperative. I was going to hold onto her for a while, until **_**someone**_** got his panties in a twist and decided to come and nab her! But…but! What if the gas got him too! Oooo, wouldn't that be lovely, Tommy my boy!?"**

**Tommy shrugged. "Yeah I guess so, boss."**

**Joker scowled at him. **_**Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad to let the poor kid kill him**_**, he thought.**

"**Well, Tommy. Just in case, we need to find me another hideout. If Batsy's still alive, he'll be coming back for us. And as much as I **_**treasure **_**our time together, I'd rather not be sitting here with my thumb up my ass when he comes back…"**

**The pale, lifeless body that had washed up on the rocks shivered slightly. The woman suddenly attempted to suck in a large breath of air and began coughing violently, and then vomited up multiple cups' worth of water. After the initial uncontrollable bodily purging, she relaxed slightly. When she tried to open her eyes, she realized something was wrong. She lifted a hand gingerly to check her face. She was weak and trembling. She immediately felt the large and splintered piece of driftwood that had impaled her left eye at some point during her turbulent submarine journey.**

"**Ah…ah…!" A few feeble cries escaped her lips as she drug herself up on her knees, the pain starting to splinter through the numb shock. Panicked and half blind, she tried to stand, stumbled over the ragged rocks of the sea shore, scraped up her hands and her knees, then gave up and simply crawled on all fours up to level ground. She was finally able to stand and remain balanced, so she attempted to steady her trembling limbs for her next task. She slowly reached up both hands, wrapped them around the jagged chunk of wood, took a few deep and tumultuous breaths and then ripped it out of her eye socket. A sick squishing sound - like someone punching a bowl of lasagna - erupted from her hollow and mangled socket and she screamed in agony.**

**After she had regained some semblance of composure, she dropped the bloody piece of wood and began stumbling toward the outskirts of the city. The sun was setting and heavy, dark clouds rolled in. It started raining on her almost immediately. **

**She found a man walking down the street, assaulted him, and took the duster he'd been wearing. She covered her soaked, half-bare and bleeding body with the coat and continued on her way. **

**Next she arrived at a guns and ammunition store. The clerk seemed to be just getting ready to close up for the night. She walked in and before he even realized what she was doing, she was smashing her elbow through the glass of the front counter and grabbing a magnum. She tore open a box of rounds and loaded two in the gun. As the clerk was beginning to make a run for the back room, she shot the wall next to his head. "Stop."**

**He immediately stopped and faced her, putting his hands up. "J-Jesus Christ lady! What do you want!?"**

"**There's one more bullet in this gun and I won't shoot you if you listen to what I tell you and say yes afterwards."**

**He nodded his head vigorously, seeming like he was trying as hard as he could to push his body through the wall and disappear. "Whatever you say, just don't shoot me!"**

"**Good. I need you to come with me. I'm sure you've noticed the lack of an eye. There's an ophthalmologist's office not far from here. You help me, and I won't be painting the town red with your blood tonight. There's even a reward in it for you."**

**He nodded again. "Sure thing, whatever. What's an optimologist?"**

**Her good eye twitched. She had always had little patience for idiots, but the strange urge to kill this guy for it now was almost overwhelming. "**_**Oph-thal-mologist. **_**An eye surgeon, idiot."**

**She filled the magnum with more rounds and stashed the rest in the pockets of the duster and nodded for him to follow her out of the store. She kept the gun close to her hip, the safety off. "Now listen, I don't want to have to kill you. I need you right now. I inherited a large sum of money from my dead husband's life insurance, plus the money I saved when I was a doctor at Arkham… stick with me for a while, keep your mouth**_** shut**_**, and you'll get to walk away tomorrow with fifteen thousand dollars. Deal?"**

**The clerk's eyes lit up. "Fifteen **_**thousand**_**? Yeah lady, for that much money I'll do whatever you say!" **

"**Good." They arrived at the ophthalmologist's office. The lights were on inside, but the doors were locked. She shot out one of the windows and motioned for the clerk to climb through, following after. Once they were in, she quickly apprehended the secretary that had been in the process of slipping her coat on to leave for the night. "Get that damn alarm off! If the G.C.P.D. calls, you accidentally locked yourself out." She turned to her hired sidekick. "Gun-boy, what's your name?"**

"**D-Dexter!"**

"**Dexter - be a good boy now, and go find the surgeon. If **_**she's**_** still here, so is he. Probably in the back doing paperwork. Take this." She tossed him the magnum. "And bring him out to me, alive."**

**The secretary was so shocked by Katelyn's appearance that she immediately obeyed all her instructions. It would have taken someone with an iron will to cross a woman with one massively bloody, hollow eye socket, bloody gashes all over her entire body, and torn, ragged clothes that looked like they'd just had an encounter with a saber-toothed tiger. The phone rang. As the secretary was talking down the police, Katelyn began rummaging through desk drawers until she found what she needed. She smiled as the secretary put down the phone. **

**"Th-they're not coming." She was trying hard, but a small sob escaped her throat. "I did what you said. Please don't hurt me…"**

"**What's your name, sweetie?" Katelyn moved toward the terrified woman.**

"**Grace…" Tears began slowly rolling down the woman's cheeks.**

" **Well Grace… this will only hurt for a minute." Katelyn jumped on the girl, tackling her to the ground. She screamed, and Katelyn slammed a hand over her mouth. She used the weight of her body to keep Grace the secretary still, then used the letter opener she'd found in the desk and began carving one of the girl's eyes out. Even muffled, her screams were still pretty loud. **

**Dexter came back in with the doctor at gunpoint and stopped short when he saw what Katelyn was doing. He started gagging a little and the doctor's mouth dropped. "**_**Grace! What are you doing to her**_**!?"**

**Katelyn slit the girl's throat, ending the screams with a few sputtered gurgles, then stood up and turned to face the two men. An eyeball dangled from her left hand and the letter opener was clutched in her right. She dropped the bloody letter opener and held up the eyeball. "You should be proud, Grace just became an organ donor. My friend Dexter here is going to make sure you put this eye in my face and make it work without trying to kill me while I'm under anesthetic, aren't you Dexter?" She turned her eerie gaze on Dexter.**

**He nodded and pointed the gun at the surgeon. "Whatever you say, lady."**

**The doctor scoffed at her "Are you insane? I barely have anything I would need for such a technical surgery! I don't even have an anesthetist because you just murdered her!"**

**She looked at Dexter. "Dexter." He pushed the gun up against the doctor's head. Katelyn smiled and looked back at the doctor. "See how obedient he is? He'll make a fine anesthetist. Now hurry before this little baby gets cold."**


End file.
